This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. We have investigated the usage of Raman spectroscopy to diagnose atherosclerosis and breast cancer. Over the years, we have successfully conducted several in vivo and ex vivo clinical studies. We were able to minimize our microscopy-based laboratory system into a clinical Raman system utilizing a Raman fiber optical probe. Currently, we are developing a mini-Raman clinical instrument that will be available for users outside of the LBRC. The purposes of this project are to foster clinical translational research in optical spectroscopy;and to familiarize young/new investigators with the methods of diagnostic spectroscopy. The LBRC will provide Raman spectroscopy instrument capable of collecting Raman spectra from biological tissues over the fingerprint range (600-1800cm-1).